


All The King's Horses

by beelisburger



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: DATE UNDER THE STARS, Goddess Tower additional scene, Kinda, M/M, Oblivious My Unit | Byleth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:15:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23154670
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beelisburger/pseuds/beelisburger
Summary: Being the Monastery's most loved professor made Byleth very tired, and decided to go for a walk.Up in the Goddess Tower, Yuri was looking at the stars.
Relationships: Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc & My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	All The King's Horses

The White Heron Cup and the ball that was soon to follow that month were the talk of the Monastery— so, obviously, it was all that people could talk about in the Abyss as well. Yuri looked down on the turbid waters of the sewers canal, a smile on his face that failed to reach his eyes. 

Participating sounded like a good dream. Technically, of course, he could have done that. The Ashen Wolves were a house, safely tucked under the Professor's wing. He was sure that at least _legally speaking_ he was allowed to be there. But he knew very well what people thought of the Abyssians. He knew that participating would mean endless stares and unnecessary comments that he truly was not in the mood for. But most of all and even if he knew he would have never admitted it out loud, the mere thought of seeing Byleth dance with all those other students but him made his generally cold heart feel stings that he did not appreciate. It was stupid, really. Byleth was the most beloved professor (and overall adult) in the whole of Garreg Mach. Yuri was well aware of the competition at that point. But what troubled him were not the endless heads that turned when Byleth showed up. He wasn't worried about students, or house leaders, or even the other professors. He knew that he could have had a good chance of victory— had Byleth not been so absolutely fucking oblivious. 

Byleth's unawareness seemed to be deeper than a bottomless pit. It probably ran deeper than the Abyss itself. Yuri's certified flirting attempts bore no result but his own frustration, and he was running out of options that were not along the lines of "sitting on the Professors lap and kissing the life out of him"— which, honestly, would still have been futile. Byleth would have probably just stared at him blankly. 

Yuri sighed, the greenish-blackish waters staring back at him. Ah, no, that was a rat. He stood up, slowly walking away from the canal. He made his way towards the back of the Abyssian town, where he knew he would have found Balthus endlessly training. He needed a good distraction, and sparring was just as good. Because he knew that, if he were to spend too much time on his own, he was going to come up with more dangerous thoughts than just petty competitions. 

*** 

_“Are people from the Abyss not allowed to participate?” Byleth had asked, a note of curiosity popping up on his features._

_“Of course not. Would you imagine the mess the other students would make, if we were to be there? They already hardly like us walking around the Monastery, they wouldn’t want us to ruin their White Heron Cup nor the ball”, was Yuri’s reply. He had hoped he managed to sound less hurt than he actually was._

_“That is not fair. I want you there” Byleth replied, with such an innocent and yet strong spirit that left Yuri speechless, knocking the air out of his lungs. He scoffed and played with his hair, a desperate attempt at looking untouched._

_“That’s cute, professor. But you should get in the line”. A clear lie. Even if there was a line, it would be behind Byleth, but Yuri was not going to be the one to tell him that._

  
  


*** 

Yuri didn’t lie when he said that the Ashen Wolves were not welcome to the Cup nor the Ball. Honestly, just the thought of Balthus participating in such events made even Yuri himself shiver, no wonder the Church wanted them away. But. There was a “but”. He knew he was not welcome. He knew that it was not probably the smartest thing to do, and that he rarely even took the risk unless he had a clear view of the winning field. And here comes the _but_ : Byleth said he wanted him there. It was not something that Yuri could have just ignored, how could he? 

And that was why, on the night of the Ball, Yuri wore the official Academy's evening wear, put up his hair in a sophisticated ponytail and went out wearing the best makeup look he had ever graced the Garreg Mach Monastery with. 

Walking inside the Hall made an odd impression on him. It wasn’t the first party he attended, invited or otherwise. But it was bittersweet to see all his classmates having fun— well, some of them. Caspar looked utterly miserable, but that probably came with being forced to wear the evening wear and not scream for a whole night. He looked around, eyes set on finding the Professor. He was probably on the side, overlooking all the fun without actually taking part in it. Maybe he was next to the buffet. Yuri had seen the man eat four, five times a day to keep his students company, he knew what he was capable of. 

A round of applause distracted him from his thoughts, and showed that he was clearly wrong. Peering through the people that shielded the dancefloor, Yuri found what he was looking for. 

There he was, his Professor, at the center of the attentions, dancing along to the music that the band was playing. There, holding him, was Claude von Riegan. And before, the song ended, a short female student from the Golden Deer house took his place. The music stopped, but Byleth didn’t. More and more students swarmed in, all trying to get the chance of dancing with the Monastery’s favourite professor. 

Yuri smiled. Except that it wasn’t a smile, but a cold grin that did— could not reach the eyes. It had been very stupid of him. He envisioned a night with the professor, just the two of them. Talking and laughing. Maybe even dancing. But the truth was that he was not the only one who wanted it. He was just the only one who had no real rights of doing so. 

He left the hall without as much as a word. He felt even more miserable than Caspar. He had been stupid, thinking that things would go differently. It was obvious that he should not have counted on that, but he guess he had to be weak, from time to time. Sadly, that seemed to have been one of those times. He looked up at the stars, shining brightly on Garreg Mach. The diamond sky was the only thing that he truly missed, down in the Abyss. It somehow always managed to calm him down, staring at the endless constellations. So it felt only normal to climb up all to the way to the Goddess Tower, where the view on the sky rested unmatched. 

He had heard the stories, of course. If two people met on the Goddess Tower on the night of the ball and made a promise, the Goddess would see it done. It was a romantic tale and, no matter how religious he was, he had tried to pay it no mind. Besides, it was not like he had anyone to make any sort of promises with. 

The tower was empty, so he simply sat down on the floor, eyes up to see the stars. In the silence of the night, away from the party, it felt good. He was already calmer, the bittersweet hold onto his chest slightly dissipating. He could not tell how much time passed like this, simply staring at the stars in utter silence. Then, he heard footsteps. With a jolt, he got up, ready to leave the place. But he stood there, frozen in place, when he saw Byleth looking back at him. 

The professor looked equally surprised, emotions actually showing through his usually inexpressive demeanor. They both stared at each other, unsure of what to say. Yuri was obviously the one to break the silence. 

“Professor. I did not expect to see you here. I thought you were quite busy partying downstairs” was what he said, trying as hard as he could to cover the sting of pain that he felt at that. 

Byleth stared at him, an odd but— sad? look on his face. “I was tired. I came to find a bit of peace.” 

Yuri tried really hard not to think that it was the Goddess who brought the professor there. He felt like he failed, and tried to ignore that as well. 

Before he could reply, Byleth continued. “You look really good. I don’t want to … interrupt. I will leave you to your date”. And to that, Yuri took a few seconds to register what he had said, mainly because his brain was stuck at the first sentence. 

“What? No, I— I’m alone. I came here to look at the stars.” he said rapidly, before Byleth could turn his back on him. There it was. It was not in the middle of the dancefloor like he had imagined, but this was even better. They were on the Goddess Tower together, and Yuri was not going to let that go to waste. 

Byleth smiled. He actually smiled, sending every inch of Yuri into outer space. Or maybe he was boiling, it was hard to tell. Byleth’s smile was beautiful. 

“You like stars?” he asked, unsure of what else to say next. Byleth nodded, and walked closer to him, causing his heart to skip a bit. 

“My dad taught me a lot about them. We used to sit outside and look at them when I couldn’t sleep” he said, now standing next to Yuri but with his eyes fixed on the stars. For once, Yuri could not find it in himself to look at them. 

“I like stars too, but I don’t know much about them.” he admitted, before he could even realise what he was doing. Even though it was nothing, it still felt vulnerable. He should not have been opening up so much, that was not like him. But Byleth’s presence, up there in the tower, just them under the firmament, made him think that maybe being like this was alright. Just a little vulnerable was alright, for the time being. 

“I can teach you.” 

And that was how they found themselves sitting down, shoulders brushing while Byleth diligently pointed at the stars, one by one, teaching Yuri all about their constellations and myths. And for a bit, Yuri was so enraptured by them that he forgot how close they were standing. Then, he made the mistake of looking directly at Byleth, who was trying to help him find a constellation that was just impossible to see— Yuri had been pouting up until a moment ago, saying how Byleth probably just made that up to toy with him. He looked at Byleth, and that was not going to be enough to make him blush. Yuri had dignity, after all. But then, he noticed the faint pink on Byleth, and dignity was forgotten just as fast. They stayed like that for a heartbeat, simply staring at each other. Their lips were close. Too close, for Yuri’s comfort and control. It would have taken no effort to close the gap. Just a little push, and he could already taste Byleth’s lips on his. 

Clamor on the stairs made both of them jerk away, the spell wistfully broken. 

Yuri got up, subtly trying to look everywhere but at Byleth. “I think that we should get going. I wouldn’t want them to find the school’s most beloved professor spending time with an Abyssian, especially on this day”. 

Byleth followed him fast, nodding. He didn’t say anything. 

They left the tower without a word, barely escaping from the sight of the students who now came to crowd the tower with their promises. At first, Yuri thought that Byleth would leave him to join his other students, still partying in the hall. But he didn’t. He kept walking in silence next to Yuri, now clearly escorting him back to the entrance to the Abyss. _This feels too much like a date_. He immediately discarded the toughth. 

“Thanks for teaching me about the stars. I didn’t know you could be this knowledgeable” he said, once they reached their destination. It felt wrong to leave without a word. 

Byleth faintly smiled at him again. “Anytime”.

Yuri turned his back at him and made his way down into the Abyss before he could actually kiss him. 

In the darkness that now he called home, Yuri allowed himself one last thought. About the ball, about the stars and about the professor who taught him about them. He hoped that, at least that one night, the Goddess Sothis had watched over them, shoulder to shoulder on her tower.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't worry Yuri, Sothis saw everything and is now currently making fun of you two. 
> 
> Hello!!  
> I haven't posted in a very very long time, and it shows. This little thing just came to life while talking to my friend about Yurileth, and I decided to try and write a possible Goddess Tower scene since ;; insys gave us none ;;  
> A disclaimer: english isn't my first language so I apologise if there are any mistakes!  
> Title comes from "The Archer" by Taylor Swift.


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